Wheel for vehicles



(No Model.)

W. H. HARDING.

WHEEL FOR VEHICLES.

Patented Jan.'13

ITNYENTUR... z/ wgL WITNEEEEE llniran STATES Parana IVILLIAM HENRY HARDING, OF SPRINGFIELD, CALIFORNIA.

WHEEL FOR VEHICLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,585, dated January 13, 1885.

Application filed January 7, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. HARDING, a citizen of the United States, residing atOolumbia, in the county of Tuolumne and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Wheels, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a means whereby the position of the spokes may be altered or extended farther from the axial line of the hub to conform with the expansion or contraction of the felly, tire, or hub, and

also to provide a means whereby the fell y may be extended or spread should it become shrunk or contracted, and the necessity for removing the tire and resetting the same is avoided. These objects I accomplish by means of the peculiar construction of the hub and felly, as is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a sectional plan View showing the hub, one of the spokes, and a portion of the felly and tire. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the hub, and Fig. 3 is an elevation thereof. Fig. 4 is a perspective View of one of the sliding boxes in which the buttend of the spoke is stepped. Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective views of the two sections of the screw-boxing uniting the sections of the felly; and Fig. 7 is a plan view of the same, showing the lid or slide covering the opening to the screw removed.

Similar letters of reference are used to indicate like parts throughout the several views.

A-represents the axle-box, having its diameter at each end considerably reduced, and a screw-thread cut on such reduced portions, over which are screwed the caps B B. The axle-box is provided upon its circular face with a number of longitudinal slots or recesses, O, or slots extending parallel to the axial line of the hub. The number of these slots corresponds with the number of spokes used in the wheel, and they are cut in two portions-that is to say, first, a series of broad, long, and shallow slots or recesses are out, which are all in the same relative position upon the hub. Within the slot so formed I then cut a second slot, a, which slot is considerably narrower than the first slot, and a ledge, b, is thus left between the two slots or upon each side of the said secondary slot. These secondary slots are dodged-that is, each intermediate slot is farther from or nearer to a given end of the hub than are the others, and the bottom of these last-named slots are made beveled or inclined, as shown in Fig. 2, and one-half of their number are inclined up toward the righthand end of the hub, while the intermediate ones are inclined up toward the left. \Vithin these slots I place the sliding boxes D, having a lip or raised edge, 0, at one end, and a slot, E, adapted for the reception of the tenoned end of the spoke F. The bottoms of these boxes are given a'slant or bevel corresponding with that of the hub-slots in which they are placed, and the raised rib at the end of the boxes is acted upon by the edge of the band (2 of the caps 13 B. Should any shrinkage take place which-would affect the stability of the wheel, the end caps, B and B, are screwed up, and the edge of the band portion of the caps, by pressing against the lip or raised edge 0 of the spoke-boxes, will force them up the incline at the bottom of the hub-slots, and consequent ly force out farther in a radial direction the spokes F and cause them to press more tightly against the folly.

In order to take up the slack caused by the shrinkage of the sections of wood comprising the felly, I employ a screw-box, made in two sections, G and H, and adapted to fit one within the other, as shown in Fig. 1. From one side of each box projects a pintle, which enters a hole made in the end of the felly-section and serves to retain the box in its proper position. The interior or male box is made hollow, as are likewise the pintles, the hole in one of the pintles being threaded to receive a screw bolt, I, which extends through the boxes and pintles from end to end. Only one end of the bolt I is threaded, and at the center is formed a collar or band, J, in which is drilled a series of holes, 6, for the insertion of a lever, by means of which the screw is rotated to force the two sections or boxes farther apart, and thus take up the slackness of the felly caused by shrinkage. A hole or opening, f, is left in one side of both sections of the screwbox, and through which the lever usedin turn- This hole is (Not 2. In a vehicle-whee], the combination, with the sections of. the felly, of the screw-boxes G '11 and screw I, constructed. and arranged to I5 operate substantially as sh0wn,-f0r the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have liereuntorset my hand and seal.

WILLIAM HENRY HARDING. [L 8.]

' \Vitnesses:

NATHANIEL FALEs, SARAH HARDING. 

